Grade 4

We hope you had a restful break and are ready for another jam packed term!

The teachers in Grade 4 are Rachel Lehrner, Sarah Psomotragos, Ayse Ozturk, Anna McDonald and we would like to officially welcome Tayla White to our team. We are thrilled to have her on board with us!

Literacy

Reading:

This term, our focus is ‘Reading is Thinking’. We are teaching that good readers are good thinkers and focusing on deeper level thinking skills to develop more sophisticated comprehension skills. As students become better readers, their comprehension skills need to continue to deepen and build to be able to read and understand more complex texts. We are challenging our readers to think deeply and choose books that challenge them as a reader.

All students will be considering and updating their individual reading goals after conferencing with their teacher and looking at how they can move forward this term. Once each student has a goal they will be given a parent pipeline information sheet outlining the goal and ways they can focus on this goal at home with parent assistance.

We urge parents to keep up regular communication with their child about the type of book they are reading and how often they are reading at home. Please see the homework section below for more detail.

‘Just Right Books’ or I PICK books are important to have each day at school. We encourage each student to consider the level of difficulty in each book, with regard to the vocabulary and also the plot. Students use these books during daily Read to Self time when they practise becoming a better reader. Each student also participates in guided reading sessions, working alongside their teacher to consolidate strategies.

Writing:

In Term 3 the Writer’s Workshop process is in full swing. Each lesson begins with a short mini lesson focusing on a specific writing skill. Students then apply and practise this skill in their own writing using the Writer’s Workshop process: seed/idea, plan, draft, revise, edit and conference/publish. We encourage peer editing during writing time for spelling, punctuation, grammar, vocabulary and ideas. Students then have the option of publishing their work by hand or using the chrome books towards the end of term.

Conferencing with a teacher also occurs during sessions, enabling teachers to identify students’ strengths and weaknesses and ensuring that each child is catered for on an individual basis. As the term progresses, students will be placed on an individual writing goal, which they are currently thinking about, to focus their efforts during writing sessions.

This term, we are continuing to use the 6 + 1 Traits of Writing (Ideas, Conventions, Sentence Fluency, Word Choice, Voice, Organisation and Presentation).

Writer’s Workshop provides students with opportunities to apply their developing knowledge of vocabulary, opening words and phrases, connecting words and punctuation. These four components of grammar are taught during weekly VCOP sessions.

Spelling and Handwriting

Our school’s spelling program for middle and senior students is the Soundwaves Spelling program. Soundwaves builds on students’ prior knowledge gained through the ‘Letters and Sounds’ program taught in Prep to Grade 2, and Soundwaves learning in Grade 3. The children learn graphemes (letter combinations that form a sound) and their respective phonemes (the sound that the letter combinations make). This builds knowledge of word patterns and the ability to spell new vocabulary. In the classroom, students will participate in both online learning via the Soundwaves website as well as paper and games-based Soundwaves learning activities.

Mathematics

Mathematics teaching will focus on the following areas:

Measurement and Geometry 2D and 3D shapes- continued from last term

Number and Algebra- Fractions and decimals

Measurement: Time

Measurement: Area and perimeter

Students will consolidate their mathematical knowledge by relating what they learn to real life problems and to other areas of the curriculum including our science topic. They are encouraged to use a variety of strategies to solve mathematical problems.

The Grade 4 teachers will work with students to develop skills and concepts through explicit teaching in both whole class and small focus groups. Mental calculation and the teaching of efficient strategies is a priority. Students are encouraged to develop skills in estimation and use materials to explore and develop deep understanding of maths concepts. Students’ understanding of Mathematics is assessed using standardised tools and rich assessment tasks.

You can support your student at home by practising their times tables or multiplication facts as well as completing weekly mathletics tasks.

Science

Students have the opportunity to do hands on learning in our science unit this term. We are investigating living and non living things and how humans have impacted these positively or negatively. We have an excursion to St Vincent’s Garden where we will locate and learn about eucalyptus trees. Students will investigate the relationship between trees, animals, humans and the surrounding environment and what they as individuals can do looking into the future to positively impact these things. Students will also study natural weather events and look at the influence of climate change on these events.

Esmart

Esmart is a framework for schools to implement a whole-school culture and behaviour relevant to the smart, safe and responsible use of digital technologies. This eSmart framework promotes strategies for dealing with a broad range of cyber-risks. Albert Park Primary School maintains an eSmart program, which has been in operation since 2009, to build our students’ capacity to make wise choices and limit irresponsible risk-taking, as well as promoting good interpersonal relationships. As a community, we need to embrace the positives of technology for teaching practice and enhancing our students’ learning, as well as its role in positive relationship building.

Each class continues to follow the eSmart agreement and practise being eSmart in the classroom. These licences grant the children to use our ICT in accordance with the safety practices we have in place at APPS. We take online safety seriously.

Bounce Back and The Kindness Project

Bounce Back is the name of our school wide resilience program. This term we, as a school, will be moving forward with The Kindness Project as part of our Bounce Back program. Through this, the students will be learning about the importance of treating others with kindness at APPS. Students will be regularly practising acts of kindness to one another and around the school building a ‘Kindness’ culture of belonging, self worth and well-being.

Student Diaries

Student diaries are an invaluable tool for collaborating between the school and the home. Parents are encouraged to use their child’s diary to communicate important information to their teacher, such as to request a time for a meeting. Students are required to bring them to school each day and home each night. They are checked daily. Please note that absences still require a form to be filled out and handed into the office for processing.

Homework

In Grade 4, students are set up to 30 minutes of homework nightly on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. (Not Friday or the weekend). A week’s homework includes:

4 Reading sessions per week. (One session per night comprising of 10 minutes practising their Reading Goal, either independently or with an adult). This term we are asking students to record 1 thought they have while reading each night. It might be a question, a connection, a wondering or a comment. We would like students to practise tracking their thoughts while reading to reinforce ‘good readers are good thinkers’.

We thank you for your continued cooperation in ensuring that your child spends time completing their homework. If you experience any difficulty accessing the internet or lack technology to access the website, please let us know and we will make other arrangements. If you have any questions regarding homework requirements, please do not hesitate to speak to your child’s teacher.

Dates for Your Diary

These dates were correct at the time of publication, however, please check the school Website for any updated calendar events and possible date changes.

Monday 15 July Term 3 starts

Thursday 18 July Kindness Project Session 1

Friday 19 July JSC Fundraiser- Gold Coin donation

Tuesday 23 July- Weekly Drama

Wednesday 31 July Kindness Project Session 2

Thursday 1 August Australian Maths Competition (Participating students only)

Thursday 8 August District Athletics (participating students only)

Student Led Conferences (PM)

Friday 9 August Student Led Conferences (AM)

Monday 12 August Curriculum Day – no school

Day and Times TBA St Vincent Gardens Excursion

Thursday 22 August Hooptime Basketball

Thursday 29 August Father’s Day Stall

Friday 30 August Blokes’ Breakfast

Friday 20 September Last Day of term 3 – Assembly at 2.00pm – Finishes at 2.30pm